Thank you.
It's excellent to have both Industry and Heritage.
Mr. Blais, we've talked many times, so I'm not going to focus on you today, but I want to say that you did say Canada is a world leader. I certainly agree. I think that in the six years I've been here, with much of the frustration we've had about us lagging behind in terms of moving to the new platforms, of getting our isolated cultural silos into the digital sphere, I'm seeing phenomenal change, even within the last year. In particular I commend you on the magazine file. I think it's really exciting.
But I'd like to talk to Mr. Beaudoin because we don't get that opportunity very often. Please don't take it personally after I've complimented you.
Mr. Beaudoin, I'm interested in where we're going to be going in terms of becoming internationally WIPO-compliant in updating our copyright laws. Certainly we all agree that this is a key element.
I'm interested in the decision around the digital locks. Article 10 of the WIPO Copyright Treaty has some pretty specific language about the right of a country to bring into the digital realm, when it becomes WIPO-compliant, the exemptions that existed under its laws, and that the protection for digital locks, or TPMs, can be legally supported as long as they don't interfere with the rights that have existed already.
I see that under Bill C-32 the public will be granted a number of rights, but those rights don't supersede the digital locks. Why was the choice made to say you can have these rights as long as they don't interfere with the digital lock?